I bought some Brubaker Captain America trades....

[Pink Bat Maxine]

Let me start by saying, the numbers on the trades are confusing; there were four trades to choose from, Winter Solder 1 (labeled #1) and Winter Soldier 2 (labeled #2), Then there was Red Menace (labeled #1) and Death of Captain America (labeled #1)..... I concluded that Winter Soldier was a mini, so 'started' with Red Menace and Death Of..... only for Dazz to correct me. What with the numbering of the books?

At any rate, I like Red Menace a great deal (even with the disturbing Sin/Crossbones relationship...... but being Terra's biggest fan, how can I point fingers?) as I LOVE the Red Skull as a villain. Death Of.... was all right as well, but the trade doesn't read so well just by itself, so I'll wait for the next trade to come out. Still, it was Cap that made the dark tone of Red Menace enjoyable, acting as a counterpoint to the darkness, and the Death Of trade seemed to be missing that, leaving everything quite dark.... which some people enjoy, I'm certain, but I'm not a big fan of the dark-n-gritty.

Also, it leaves me perplexed as to what the hell's going on with Red Skull, and that russian guy, and.... what, the mask's back now? And Skull's trapped in his mind, and......????

But I'll pick up the Winter Soldier trades, and perhaps it'll make a little more sense.

[Magneto_X]

Also, it leaves me perplexed as to what the hell's going on with Red Skull, and that russian guy, and.... what, the mask's back now? And Skull's trapped in his mind, and......????


You got it right.

Lukin, a Russian business man who owns Kronus (sp?), wanted the Cosmic Cube so he had Winter Solider, who worked for Lukin, assassinate Red Skull to get it.

The Cube was incredibly weak in power. It was strong enough to transfer Skrull's mind/soul into Lukin's when they were on the phone.

[Pink Bat Maxine]

Oh, looking at Amazon, it seems there was a second Red Menace trade?

[Astonishing X-Fan]

Yeah, it goes Winter Soldier volumes 1 and 2, then Red Menace volumes 1 and 2, then I think Civil War and then Death of.

[stealthwise]

Yeah, it goes Winter Soldier volumes 1 and 2, then Red Menace volumes 1 and 2, then I think Civil War and then Death of.

Yes, and there are two Death Of volumes, I just picked up the second one in HC, and it's quite good, providing more of that counterpoint to the darkness that you appear to be looking for.

Your best bet prior to buying all of these would have been the Omnibus, which collects everything, in order, up to the end of the Civil War trade.

Reread them from the beginning and you'll likely enjoy them a lot more, even though stuff has already been kind of spoiled for you.

[Charles RB]

Let me start by saying, the numbers on the trades are confusing; there were four trades to choose from, Winter Solder 1 (labeled #1) and Winter Soldier 2 (labeled #2), Then there was Red Menace (labeled #1) and Death of Captain America (labeled #1)..... I concluded that Winter Soldier was a mini, so 'started' with Red Menace and Death Of..... only for Dazz to correct me. What with the numbering of the books?

It's possible they did it solely to be annoying. (I'd have thought it'd make more sense to have them all as a "Captain America: Ed Brubaker Collections" trade series and number/label it as needed...)

[Sean Walsh]

If I may make a suggestion: after you've read all those books, hug them.

Just......just hug them. They deserve your love for the awesomeness that they provided you while reading them. :smile:

[40footwolf]

Honestly, I think Brubaker's run is the most overrated comic on the stands today. It's fun in a kind of 70's action movie sort of way, but I've never really seen anything else to it.

[scout1279]

As much as you don't need to read anything before Brubaker's run, you really do need to read Brubaker's run straight from the beginning. Each storyline is more like a chapter in a bigger story. I believe the order is:

Winter Soldier 1
Winter Soldier 2
Red Menace 1
Red Menace 2
Civil War
Death of...1

I think we're still in the "Death of Captain America" storyline (possibly Death of... 3). I'm not really sure since I switched to reading it monthly. It does continue to be dark, because it really is all about the loss of Steve Rogers and his absence in all their lives, so I think you are supposed to be missing his brightness as a counterpoint to the darkness, just like the characters are. As of the last issue, it seems like things might be looking up a bit though. Hopefully.

[Pink Bat Maxine]

As much as you don't need to read anything before Brubaker's run, you really do need to read Brubaker's run straight from the beginning. Each storyline is more like a chapter in a bigger story. I believe the order is:

Winter Soldier 1
Winter Soldier 2
Red Menace 1
Red Menace 2
Civil War
Death of...1

I think we're still in the "Death of Captain America" storyline (possibly Death of... 3). I'm not really sure since I switched to reading it monthly. It does continue to be dark, because it really is all about the loss of Steve Rogers and his absence in all their lives, so I think you are supposed to be missing his brightness as a counterpoint to the darkness, just like the characters are. As of the last issue, it seems like things might be looking up a bit though. Hopefully.

To be honest......

At this point it's seeming too much trouble.
I liked what I read, but don't LOVE it, and honestly..... that's a lot of money to lay down to get a story that I just kinda like. Don't get me wrong, I think it's accomplished, but it's not setting me on fire, and I'm really peeved at the numbering, and I'm just getting to the point where I say 'bah, forget it'.

[scout1279]

To be honest......

At this point it's seeming too much trouble.
I liked what I read, but don't LOVE it, and honestly..... that's a lot of money to lay down to get a story that I just kinda like. Don't get me wrong, I think it's accomplished, but it's not setting me on fire, and I'm really peeved at the numbering, and I'm just getting to the point where I say 'bah, forget it'.

Yeah, I get that. Also, I know that when people constantly go on and on about how you must read something, or something is the best thing ever, that alone is a bit of a turn off, because it makes reading it seem like some sort of homework assignment.

[Reptisaurus!]

Not my favorite thing ever. I got the trades out of the library, don't remember a damn thing.

(Note this happens a lot. I read a lot of comics, and my memory sucks.)

But Do. Not. Let this prevent you from checking out Iron Fist and (double especially) Criminal.

[Pink Bat Maxine]

Yeah, I get that. Also, I know that when people constantly go on and on about how you must read something, or something is the best thing ever, that alone is a bit of a turn off, because it makes reading it seem like some sort of homework assignment.

In fairness, I went right out after work yesterday, and bought Winter Soldier #1 and #2 and the second part of Red Menace that I was missing.

So, you know. Maybe they DO have their hooks in me after all. :tongue: